NewLong Bio Completes Series A Financing to Advance Agarose Gel Chromatography Media Project

VCBeat has learned that in August 2021, Hangzhou Niulong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (“Niulong Biotech”) completed a tens-of-millions-of-yuan Series A financing round jointly invested by Huaiji Investment, Efung Capital, and Aopeng Investment. This round marks Niulong Biotech’s first introduction of professional investment firms. The funds will be used to industrialize its agarose gel media project, including continuous product R&D and optimization, talent acquisition, and construction of production facilities.

According to available information, NewLong Bio was founded in 2009 in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. It is a national high-tech enterprise established by highly qualified overseas-returnee technical professionals. The company is dedicated to the research and development, production, and sales of protein separation resins and bioactive protein/peptide biological products. These products are widely used in fields such as the separation and purification of protein therapeutics, diagnostic reagents, and cell culture.

According to reports, the production base for NewLong Bio’s agarose gel media project will be located in the Linjiang High-Tech Park of Qiantang District. The project involves the acquisition of 30 mu of Class III industrial land, with a total building area of approximately 16,000 square meters, and is scheduled to commence production in the first half of 2023. Notably, upon reaching full capacity, the project’s output will rank among the top three in China’s media industry. Its products are benchmarked against foreign competitors, with plans to replace imported products through independent research and development.

Dr. Qian Yongchang, a core researcher of the project and the founder of the company, has been deeply engaged in the biopharmaceutical industry for over 30 years, with a long-term focus on the application research of agarose gel. Demonstrating remarkable resolve by abandoning his career in the United States to return to China and start a business, he successfully navigated numerous entrepreneurial crises. Staying closely aligned with the biopharmaceutical sector and adhering to the philosophy and positioning of “We do not make drugs, but we produce tools for drug manufacturing,” he strategically developed two major product lines: agarose gel resins and recombinant proteins, ultimately propelling NewLong Biotech onto a trajectory of rapid growth.

With the gradual implementation of the industrialization process for NewLong Bio's agarose gel resin project,Recently, Newron Biologics has launched its Series A+ financing round., further accelerate the implementation, development, and success of the industrialization project for agarose gel media, refine, professionalize, and standardize the media business, build dreams at a new starting point, and set sail on a new journey.

Dr. Qian Yongchang, Founder of Niulong BiotechIt is indicated that protein separation resins have become one of the “chokehold” products constraining the development of China’s biopharmaceutical industry, making it imperative to replace imports with domestically produced alternatives. Protein separation resins are manufactured from various matrix materials. Newlong Biotech has focused on agarose gel-based resins for many years and has already mastered the process technologies required for industrial-scale production.

NewLong Biotech’s agarose gel resin products feature two major advantages: first, they have been well validated in NewLong Biotech’s kilogram-scale recombinant protein production process; second, NewLong Biotech has developed a technology that yields microspheres with uniformity far superior to that of currently common agarose microsphere preparation techniques.

Dr. Qian Yongchang also stated: “We appreciate the investors’ trust and recognize and welcome the strategic positioning of this round’s investors—including Huaiji Capital, Efung Capital, and Aopeng Capital—in the healthcare industry chain. We look forward to strengthening collaboration and achieving mutual growth across the biopharmaceutical industry chain.”

Wang Ruina, Partner at Efung CapitalIt was stated that the domestic protein separation and purification industry is generally small, fragmented, and lacks scale. Coupled with the numerous challenges encountered during process scale-up, the ability to achieve industrialization is of critical importance. Currently, NewLong Bio has become one of the few enterprises in China capable of large-scale production of active proteins and bioseparation materials. With the team’s continuous R&D investment in products and technologies, we look forward to NewLong becoming a pioneer in import substitution.

Zhang Bin, Managing Partner at Huaiji Capital and Aopeng Investment ManagementIt is indicated that protein-based raw materials and agarose separation media are core biomedical inputs urgently needed in China. For many years, domestic supply has been constrained by foreign monopolies, making the localization of these specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative industries a pressing national priority. Meanwhile, the downstream market for large-molecule biopharmaceuticals has experienced rapid growth in recent years, driving robust demand for these critical raw materials. In the context of trade frictions led by the United States, achieving domestic production of these materials has become increasingly vital.

Efung Capital is among the earliest specialized biomedical investment firms in China. Its investment team comprises PhDs in biomedical sciences from top-tier universities both domestically and internationally. The firm focuses on global venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) investments in the biomedical sector, with a particular emphasis on innovative drugs and high-end medical devices. Efung Capital has conducted rigorous screening and invested in more than 40 high-quality enterprises in China and abroad, including Chipscreen Biosciences, Frontier Biotechnologies, Ascentage Pharma, Pumen Technology, Harbour BioMed, Obio Technology, Apexigen, and Centrexion. Owing to its outstanding investment performance and exceptional investment research capabilities, Efung Capital has been honored as one of the “Top 30 Healthcare Investment Institutions in China for 2020” by Zero2IPO and listed among the “Top 10 Best Exit Cases of 2019” by China Venture. It has also been featured in an exclusive interview by Nature, the world’s authoritative scientific journal.

Hangzhou Huaiji Investment Management Co., Ltd. was established in April 2015. As an investment firm specializing in the biopharmaceutical and information technology sectors, it currently manages assets of nearly RMB 1 billion and collaborates with close to 50 enterprises. The company is composed of professionals and advisors with extensive expertise in investing in healthcare, information technology, and related fields. It continues to invest in the biopharmaceutical and IT sectors, seizing industry opportunities and empowering portfolio companies. Guided by its original mission, Huaiji Investment pools professional expertise, adheres to long-term industrial investment, deepens the integration of industry resources, assists enterprises in establishing broader collaborative partnerships, and strives to build a more professional investment firm. Through focused fundamental research and mapping out industrial development pathways, the company continuously identifies and creates value, working hand in hand with enterprises to drive industrial upgrading.

Hangzhou Aopeng Investment Management Co., Ltd. was established in 2015 and registered in the Xianghu Financial Town of Hangzhou. Guided by the philosophy of “identifying niche market leaders and serving high-end talent,” the firm is an investment institution jointly founded by seasoned professionals from the healthcare and financial industries, with a focus on supporting sectors such as healthcare, intelligent manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. It boasts extensive resources spanning domestic and international universities and research institutions, financial institutions, third-party consulting firms, state-owned enterprises, listed companies, industrial (M&A) funds, and government guidance funds. The company has already invested in well-known healthcare enterprises both in China and abroad, including Iron Technology (688329), Dingtai Pharmaceutical Research, Tianqin Biologics, Shima Pharmaceuticals, Baizinuo, and Wujiahe Gene. Looking ahead, it aims to further expand its portfolio with more high-quality enterprises in this sector, fostering their growth through long-term partnership.